How a Rescued Greyhound Became a Foster Mom to Over 50 Animals

When Jasmine arrived at a UK wildlife sanctuary she was starving and cold. She didn’t forget the kindnesses bestowed upon her, and dedicated her life to being a foster mother to puppies, fox cubs, a fawn, chicks, badger cubs, guinea pigs, and rabbits.

Greyhounds like Jasmine, bred to race, are trained to chase rabbits. But that wasn’t the life Jasmine was destined to live; as a foster mother, she snuggled right in with bunnies. But her closest friend was a fawn called Bramble. They were nearly inseparable until Bramble was rehabilitated enough to be released back into the wild.

Jasmine was a rescue dog who lived at the sanctuary until her passing in 2011. She was no ordinary rescue dog, she was the most amazing greyhound in the world!

She was only a young pup when she was locked in a shed and abandoned. When she was discovered by the police many days later she was emaciated, mange ridden and terrified. She was taken to the RSPCA quarters in Coventry where Geoff [Grewcock] just happened to be visiting several weeks later. They were introduced and as they say ‘the rest is history.’ She came to live with Geoff at the sanctuary. Each day her confidence grew and her personality flourished. But the most amazing thing was yet to come….

It turned out Jasmine was a natural ‘Mother hen.’ One day a young fox cub was brought in to the sanctuary. She had been tied to railing and left to die. She was very small and weak and the outlook wasn’t bright. That was until Jasmine sauntered over to the fox cub’s basket and started to lick her. Geoff was immediately concerned, followed by bemusement, followed by amazement as he saw before his eyes the fox responding to Jasmine’s touch. He quickly realised that Jasmine was acting in the same way the fox cub’s mother would have done in the wild!

Over the next few days Jasmine continued to ‘mother’ the fox cub, whom Geoff had named Roxy. Roxy grew strong and grew up. She lives at the sanctuary with Jasmine, who is mum and best friend all rolled into one.

Jasmine was truly one of a kind. She mothered many of the sanctuaries residents back to health including Bramble the roe deer, humbug the badger and two of the other sanctuary dogs just to mention a few.

Sadly Jasmine passed away in 2011. She is greatly missed by all at the sanctuary.

studied English and has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a focus on animal behavior, neuropsychology, and psychotherapy. She shares two pit bulls (adopted from the SPCA Serving Erie County) with her family, as well as three adopted cats with her husband, Fred. She takes pride in being a grammar enthusiast and advocating for animals, the environment, equal rights, and humanitarianism. She loves camping, cooking, taking photos, listening to psychedelic rock and indie music, and making all sorts of crafty things – from charm bracelets and paper rose bouquets to kitty condos and feral cat houses!

Melanie was sharing this profile with Fred, who is new to the Life With Dogs family, so many stories that were written by Fred from April 2014 – June 2014 will appear under Melanie’s name.

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2 thoughts on “How a Rescued Greyhound Became a Foster Mom to Over 50 Animals”

What an amazing angel. When you see how much they have to give, I can’t fathom the way they are often treated. Abused abandoned and even after all that still willing to love unconditionally. We could learn so much from them.

This is so heartwarming: I️ have a 4 year old greyhound ( Greta) rescue that reminds me of Jasmine , but now I️ live in efficiency so I’m not allowed more pets other than my 20 year old cat. I’ve had 3 greyhounds, so loving and appreciative of having a home and loving human. I️ appreciate your recognizing greyhounds, so many in need of homes. I’ve rescued. Dog, cats, race horses, donkeys, goats, geese , ducks, bunnies, unwanted pet and they seemed to know they needed to get along to live on the farm. Oh, frogs too. I’m 70 now and really miss all the pets I️ brought the 7 I️ had left when moving back to Texas. I️ only have the 20 year old cat left out of all the pets. I’m blessed to have Greta too.Greta for 4 months